Simply Egg-stravagant

I really enjoy a specific breakfast spot but do not enjoy their ridiculously overpriced meals that I am sure actually cost a tenth of what I get charged. ***cough----Cora's---cough**
So in the interest of saving my broke, student loan paying, under wage paid self I decided to reverse engineer one of my favorites of the bank breaking breakfast nook. See what happens when you work in the Engineering Dept.

I have been making this item repeatedly for about a month and think I have figured it out.
**WARNING: this item is not suggested for those with high cholesterol, those trying to watch their waist line, or those that do not seriously love a whole lot of egg action**

Erica's Poorman's Egg-stravaganza:

3 - Eggs
2- Slices of bread (white, whole wheat, raisin...whatever you like...shake it up)
1- Slice of Swiss Cheese (may I suggest Emmental...its got more kick)
2-Slices of Black Forest Ham
a dash- of Cinnamon

Cooking it:
1. Beat 2 eggs in a bowl; add the cinnamon to the eggs
2. dip the bread in the eggs
3. ok we are making french toast here so you get it...butter the pan to all hell and start to make french toast.
4. When the french toast is nearly cooked fry up the remaining egg (I would suggest breaking the yolk so that its pretty flattened and all mixed together) **but not scrambled**
5. Place fried egg, ham slices, and swiss cheese on top of french toast slice and top it with the other piece of french toast.
6. Now, in the spirit of grill cheese, let the cheese melt and the french toast crisp up on each side.


Now enjoy your heart attack inducing indulgence.....LOVE IT!

E.T Phone Home

As I thoroughly enjoy bringing realism and doom and gloom to an otherwise chipper and upbeat blog, courtesy of the hopeful, happy, and wonderfully optimistic Krista, I present my thoughts on the universe and us.

So lately I have been really into shows about the universe. Astrophysics is really as nerdy as I have always thought it was but it is incredibly interesting to think about life and existence on such a grand scale. I think I find it so interesting because it not only points out how incredibly insignificant we are as a planet but also how insignificant our teeny tiny milky way is to the greater picture. For example, one show demonstrated our size and significance by comparing the universe to a beach. It stated that the universe is made up of so many galaxies that if you considered each galaxy as a grain of sand then the number of galaxies in the universe would be about as many grains of sand on every beach on the planet earth. That is pretty insane. Just think about how many grains of sand is in just one handful off of one beach. That is a whole lot of galaxies.


Now this may all sound really depressing and cynical but if you realize how little our planet matters then you really don't feel as if you have to accomplish much. I mean I used to feel like I was not living up to my potential as an educated human being but considering how minuscule we are anyways...who cares. Therefore, all we need to do is have fun, enjoy life, enjoy each other, and not worry about being important to anyone but those that surround us. Although, thinking about this can also leave you with a smile on your faces as you are overcome with a sense of awe as you wonder how this massive expanse of the universe all came to be. Pretty cool....pretty cool.

My god I bet Stephen Hawkins is pretty depressed having dedicated his life to this topic.

Ok sorry next time I will write about cooking or something more cheerful...lol.

Screw Nestle, make your own Quik!

As I might have mentioned before, I stand vehemently on the opposition side of the water privatization issue. I equate the purchasing of bottled water with peeing in a public place; if it's an emergency, then do what you've gotta do. Otherwise, just wait until there's a tap (or toilet) available. (*Note: This site does not condone public urination.)

Still, I know that Erica and I do not want this blog to become overly preachy and annoying. So, I'll limit myself on the water debate...for now. (almost)

The point is, I boycott the company Nestle. I primarily avoid them because of their hideous human rights violations in their efforts to control the earth's water supply. However, there are quite a number of products under their corporate umbrella (many of which are opposed by a number of groups for various reasons) and this includes the squeezably convenient Nestle Quik chocolate syrup. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of competition for this product, so my options are limited. The solution? Homemade chocolate sauce.

Recipe: Homemade chocolate sauce

I don't actually tend to "follow" recipes per se, but lucky for you, it couldn't be any simpler.

3-4 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 cups cocoa powder
pinch of salt

I actually used vanilla sugar (sugar infused with vanilla beans/seeds) and omitted the extract. Either would work.

1. Mix the cocoa powder and water over medium heat.
2. When cocoa dissolved, mix in sugar. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add vanilla and salt.
4. Bring to boil for 1-3 minutes
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes to make sure everything is dissolved and the flavours have developed.
6. Allow to cool completely, then store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Will keep for a couple of months. Use a couple of tablespoons for chocolate milk or drizzle liberally over ice cream!

On food

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well. "
-Virginia Woolf

This morning I jazzed up my coffee (Bialetti Moka Express!)with a shot of Baileys Irish Cream (I'm pretty sure it should be Bailey's Irish Cream, but I default to the website title. I'll overlook your apostrophe confusion THIS time, Mr. Bailey!) and shaved French dark chocolate. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

What a way to start a Sunday.

Wanted: Change.

I try to avoid talking politics. There are a few specific topics on which I have profoundly intense opinions. Unfortunately, I'm not exactly "aces" at debating and I tend to struggle with separating my emotions from the subjects I feel strongly about. I especially don't want to risk creating tension within any friendships because of a political divide. Thus, I steer clear of being pulled into conversations of the political persuasion.

That said, there's one topic for which I express my interest with complete transparency. For those of you who know me, you know that it's the environment. I'll be the first to admit, however, that I'm no David Suzuki. There are literally hundreds of ways I could become more green. Still, I do my best to uphold the commitments I can. I turn down the heat, turn off the light, compost, recycle, upcycle, and bicycle. I don't buy bottled water or products from known clear cutters. As much as I can afford it, I shop locally, sustainably, and organically.

Unfortunately, this is not enough. The fact is, while we can all work to do our part on an individual level, we need the support from our government. More importantly, the earth needs the action from our government. As it stands, Canada is taking more steps backward than forward in the struggle with climate change. In Copenhagen last month, Canada was presented with no less than SEVEN "fossil awards" for blocking progress at the UN summit. How shameful! I am appalled by the inaction of the Conservative government. Harper needs to stop tilling the oil sands and start leading Canada towards a clean future. I believe that there's still time for change, but the clock is running out.

A personal hero of mine, Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians, captured this sentiment quite nicely.
Click here to read Maude Barlow's editorial in last week's Globe and Mail.

Also check out
ecoSanity, a personal favourite green site

Don't you hate it when....

1. People single file through a door way that has two doors while leaving the remaining door closed.

They will wait for 5 minutes to get through a door when they could easily shave minutes off their doorway entry time by simply opening the other door. This is when I enter the picture, open the other door, and free those lowly souls patiently waiting in line to get in.

2. People speak a different language in front of you and look at you during the conversation.

First of all ...its rude. Second, every person left awkwardly laughing along or nodding and trying to mask a look of complete confusion thinks you are talking about them.

3. You get a call that is the wrong number and the person proceeds to interrogate you.

These interrogations usually include the person asking ME to repeat the number, asking me how long I have had the phone number, just getting angry, or best of all asking me " are you sure you are not Janine she gave me this number?"

4. The check out person at the grocery store makes snide comments or inquires about your purchases.

You know what....just scan my groceries, make uneventful small talk, take my method of payment and move along. I do not need your input on the type of cheese I am buying, my selection of lettuce, or your concern for the way my reusable bag smells.

5. People make abstract and very unspecific requests and then proceed to get agitated when you ask "what??"

For example, get me that thing out of the thing in that room. I don't live inside your head nor am I a practicing psychic, so please be a little more articulate then that.

I said it.

Air Force One is an awesome movie. Next time you watch it, try and count how many shots are of Harrison Ford's head peeking around corners or through holes in the ceiling or the floor. I'll give you a hint: it's a LOT. Most of the movie, actually.


Get off my plane!

Don't Call Me......

Okay, so I get how people mistake me as the secretary. I sit at a desk outside my boss' office that faces the main door of the office suite, I do all her filing, scheduling, and expense reports and the like and I answer the phones.

However, contrary to most of my tasks and my desk placement I AM NOT THE SECRETARY. I have been called the "secretary" 3 times today and I fear that one more utterance of the word could drive me over the edge. Not that there is anything wrong with being a secretary, its just that this is not what I spent 9 years in University and 6 figures in student loans trying to accomplish. Yes I am being a snob but I am just being honest and venting, AND I am part of the generation that thinks we deserve far more out of life than we probably do.

I suppose the only way to solve this problem is to request a fancy name plate that reads "Research & Administrative Assistant." Oh who am I kidding, thats a fancy name for secretary. Well C'est La Vie.

Christmas in the kitchen.

When I go home for Christmas, there are only two things I want to do: ski and cook. Fortunately, the weather this year provided me with plenty of snow on the trails and time in the kitchen. As my time spent x-country was uneventful (though thoroughly enjoyable), I'll spare you the details and focus instead on a couple of unexpected masterpieces and catastrophes that made their way out of my parent's kitchen.

With Erica's inspiration, and my father as my sous-chef, I attempted Gordon Ramsay's Beef Wellington. It was an adequate first attempt. Apparently neither my father nor myself have a great attention to culinary detail. He neglected to follow Gordo's very specific instruction to be careful NOT to over chop the mushrooms in the food processor, lest they become a "slurry." And slurry, they were.

My own mistake was equally unfortunate as I had taken out a box of phyllo instead of puff pastry to thaw throughout the day. I realized this in the eleventh hour and was forced to microwave a rock solid, frozen package of puff pastry. Needless to say, this was not ideal.

The dish itself did come together eventually but the mushy mushrooms and sub-par pastry did not bake perfectly and left more moisture (almost sogginess) than I would have liked. However, by the time we pulled it out of the oven, it was almost eleven pm. My hunger overtook my critical eye and we ate the dish as it was; soggy and slightly under cooked. I feel that if it was edible despite all these shortcomings, then my second attempt is sure to impress.

You may be wondering what I did with my mistakenly thawed phyllo. Well, being of the waste-not-want-not school, I incorporated all of it (yes, the entire package) into the following evening's meal. Specifically, I made a few dozen phyllo cups- some savory, some sweet. I baked into the savory cups goat cheese souffles, which I served as appetizers. The sweet cups were served as dessert with dark chocolate mousse inside.

These phyllo nightmares (though delicious, they were horribly time consuming. And let's face it, phyllo doesn't add much in the way of flavour), bookended an otherwise delicious meal. We made a duck confit served over greens, pears, blackberries and Gorgonzola. This was followed by a chermoula carrot soup and then a handmade butternut squash, prosciutto ravioli. Turns out, I'm not such a fan of butternut squash. Who knew?

Overall, I returned to Ottawa content with the time I'd spent cooking. Though really, I never get enough of my parent's ample counter space, stocked pantry, and plethora of kitchen equipment. *Sigh* One day, standing Kitchen Aid mixer. One day.